The Butt Facts:Cigarette Smoking, an Addiction to Nicotine

By Dr. Peter W. Kujtan, B.Sc., M.D., Ph.D.

I view cigarette smoking as an addiction to nicotine. It may start as a fad or habit but turns into an addictive behavior. For that reason, I do not get upset with patients who have smoking problems, but rude smokers irritate me. Second hand smoke is harmful and even smoke residue on clothes can affect small children. Cigarettes are much more than dried tobacco rolled in paper. Cigarettes are intricate and highly effective drug delivery systems containing closely guarded and patented technology. Smoking a pack a day produces a four-fold increase in your odds of suffering a heart attack. Not all smokers will develop lung cancer, but many will and almost all will suffer negative lung effects. Smokers who survive heart attacks usually end up on a slew of medications, and many continue to smoke. The addiction can overshadow guilt, causing this group to reluctantly accept the risks of continued smoking. Quitting smoking has been shown to be more effective than a bucket of heart pills. Cardiac rehabilitation programs are now actively encouraging smoking cessation.

Nicotine and various oxidants are the most harmful chemicals for the heart and brain, while various carcinogens produced in the combustion process affect the lungs. The reasons why we donít notice harmful effects are found in our genes. Humans have the capacity to regenerate and heal. This ability wrongfully reinforces a belief that certain behaviors can do no harm, and also why we donít notice things till we get older. The choice to use a small dose of nicotine to offset withdrawal effects while quitting makes sense. It is safe and free of carcinogens. Quitting will not completely reverse risk factors, but you will feel better. Kids of non-smokers are much less likely to take up the habit.

Viewing smoking as a non-medical nuisance is detrimental. With thousands of employees, many hospitals initially designated smoking areas out of public view. It then progressed into total smoking bans. Imagine banning coffee! Smokers are forced to vacate hospital property, i.e. stand on sidewalks in front of hospitals to puff. Although well intentioned, the result is an odd public sight, which sends the wrong message to the hundreds of school kids who ride the buses. Everyday, these children witness people dressed in hospital uniforms, which they misconstrue as nurses and doctors, openly smoking in front of hospitals. You cannot buy that kind of advertising and even the Marlboro Man would be pleased. Employers must realize the benefits and long term cost savings that can be incurred by having pro-active smoking cessation programs. Dadís honey and vinegar thing rings true over and over again as life goes on. Please, partner up with your doctor and quit today!

● Don't Smoke Near Your Macbook by Quafe24. "the presence of cigarette smoke residue will cause internal problems in a Macbook significant enough that Apple considers it sabotage. The way Apple puts it: 'cigarette residue' is a 'bio-hazard.'"
Not a Cough in a Carload - Images From the Tobacco Industry Campaign to Hide the Hazards of Smoking, from Stanford School of Medicine, Lane Medical Library.

● Cigarette Litter from CigaretteLitter.Org, a not-for-profit organization. It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year. ... toxic residue in cigarette filters is damaging to the environment, and littered butts cause numerous fires every year, some of them fatal.

● Mother Earth Is Not an Ashtray from WhyQuit.com. The nicotine trapped inside 200 used filters is sufficient to kill an adult human - 50 to 60 milligrams. Pick up a few dozen butts and take a big whiff.